John Swinney is accused of running out of ideas to save the SNP

John Swinney was accused of running out of “ideas and money” after presenting a “disappointing” legislative program for the coming year that eliminated previous spending promises.

With just under 18 months to go before the 2026 Holyrood election, which could see the SNP forced out of office, Swinney said he would focus on “affordable, impactful and actionable” commitments.

Presenting his first government programme since becoming First Minister, he said his priorities were eradicating child poverty and improving public services and the environment.

However, opposition parties argued that this programme had been torpedoed by the £500 million in public spending cuts announced the previous day by his finance minister, Shona Robison.

This included £115.8 million in healthcare spending, even though Scots had to endure long waiting lists for treatment.

In addition, Mr Swinney has abandoned an earlier promise to provide free school meals to all Year 6 and 7 pupils, meaning the benefit will now only be paid to pupils from poorer families.

Fourteen draft laws

The First Minister is under pressure to quickly turn the SNP's fortunes around after its crushing defeat at July's general election, but Labour and the Tories said the manifesto showed he had neither new ideas nor a new vision.

The programme included 14 legislative proposals for the coming parliamentary year on climate change, building safety, misogyny, the natural environment and education reform. He also promised faster planning decisions for renewable energy projects.

Following strong backlash from artists, Mr Swinney reversed his stance on cutting cultural funding and promised to provide the NHS with 210,000 additional outpatient appointments.

He also said he would push for further rent controls, despite previous restrictions having backfired, with investment in build-to-rent properties in Scotland falling by 71 percent last year.

Douglas Ross, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, said: “After 17 years of SNP incompetence, Scotland’s finances and public services are in a massive mess.

“The result of this could be seen in John Swinney's speech, which was nothing more than a series of empty platitudes from an SNP government that has neither ideas nor money at its disposal.”

He said the government programme had been scaled back because of the SNP's previous “wasteful public spending”, which he said had led to “brutal spending cuts to plug a huge financial black hole”.

“Scotland needs change”

Referring to polls suggesting the Nationalists could be voted out at the 2026 election, Ross said Mr Swinney's statement was “another missed opportunity by this SNP government and they don't have many left”.

Anas Sarwar, leader of the Scottish Labour Party, said a government programme was needed to address “stagnant growth, record-long NHS waiting lists, falling education standards, rising drug deaths and a housing shortage”.

“But instead we have an SNP government with no vision, no strategy and no plan. It is becoming clearer every day that Scotland needs change,” he said.

“This government has run out of ideas and lost touch with reality.” IPPR Scotland, a well-known think tank, described the programme as “disappointing and lacking in new initiatives”.

On Tuesday, Ms Robison announced £500 million in spending cuts to fund public sector pay rises that were far higher than planned.

It also announced that it would withdraw up to £460 million from a fund designed to promote the growth of the green energy industry in order to plug a £1 billion financial hole.

The Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) announced last week that “a large proportion” of the emergency cuts were due to the SNP’s own spending decisions, particularly on public sector pay.

Free school meals

Last year's government programme said that all pupils in Years 6 and 7 would receive free school meals from 2026. However, this year's version said the benefit would only be paid to children whose families receive the Scottish Child Payment.

This is a benefit paid to parents on low incomes. In his speech to MPs in Holyrood Hall, Mr Swinney made no mention of the abolition of the universal obligation.

He promised to “support further improvements in a range of mental health services and treatments”, but the day before Ms Robison had announced cuts to this spending of £18.8 million.

The First Minister said: “This programme for government will ensure that the people of Scotland have every opportunity to live well, thrive and have a promising future.

“This year's commitments are affordable, impactful and actionable. Together, they reflect my optimism that every challenge presents an invaluable opportunity to adjust our course, rethink our priorities and renew our partnerships.”

He again blamed the UK government for the “financial constraints” on his plans, although the SFC concluded that “many” of the problems were caused by the SNP's actions.

The Scottish Government later issued a statement saying it remained “committed to extending free school meals to primary schools nationwide”, but gave no timetable for implementation.

A spokesman said: “The current financial situation means that universality cannot be achieved by 2026. The Scottish Government will work with partners in local government to achieve our shared aim of fully meeting this commitment.

“Should funding become available from the UK Government, we will endeavour to ensure provision for all primary school pupils in Scotland.”